By the time I talked with Brian Eno in his Notting Hill Studio about the making of The Equatorial Stars, my review in the SZ had already been printed - I bought the newspaper in a local store on the day of our appointment, and brought it to Brian's place. He smiled when he read the title: "Per aspera ad astra". The album was old school ambient, nothing earth-shattering, but high quality work done with grace. It couldn't rival the classics of the '70s, but don't take this for thumbs down - I still love to return to this album today. It was (without any time pressure) a very short talk (about twelve minutes (haha)) - somehow all my "ambient" questions had been asked in many interviews between 1990 and 2003. We ended up in his small studio with a map on the wall that inspired the fantasy of distant stars. Strangely enough all ended with Brian talking about Brazil: that this land has always been seen as the future, but, well, that future obviously never arrives. Afterwards I went to Khan's at Westbourne Grove for a hot Indian meal.